Playback Theatre Ethics

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Transcript of Playback Theatre Ethics

Good ethical practice in playback theatre is like eating an apple It tastes good and is healthy for you. Unethical practice makes you or another feel bad It may look good, but... Let's look at some important ethical issues in Playback Theatre Respect Respect is basic, and it seems easy. But in between respect and disrespect, however, there are some difficult questions. Playback Theatre, as an interactive theatre of personal story, needs its own ethical guidelines The ethics for theatre, nor the ethics for therapy will do When someone reacts to the idea of PT by saying, "But isn't that dangerous?People could become too opened up!" What is our response? Let's look at 4 key PT values Openness Knowledge Emergence

Ethical issues in Playback Theatre What does an actor do when he or she has a negative reaction to a teller?What does a conductor do when the teller's story is prejudiced?Is it disrespectful to repeat a teller's story to others after the performance?What does a playback performer do when he or she does not approve of another playback person's work, either inside the company or in another company? What can happen when a conductor or actor is too eager for a deep story?What can happen when a conductor or actor is afraid of a deep story?What can happen when the conductor is too absorbed with the teller? Openness means being emotionally open. Let's make our playback as ethical as we can! What can happen when a conductor or actor cannot distinguish between his or her story and the teller's?What can happen when the conductor and actors do not know enough about the audience and potential tellers?What can happen when the leader accepts a performance that is too challenging for the skill level of the actors?When can happen when the leader accepts conditions for a performance that make it difficult for playback to work? What can happen when company members do not get to tell their own stories?What can happen when rehearsals are not spontaneous and emergent in their process?What can happen when the theme is too rigid or the story pre-planned? Emergence refers to the unplanned,spontaneous nature of playback theatre Knowledge refers to self-knowledgeas well as training Holland/MSG To sum up Respect: We must promote the human rights of all those present and not present. We must seek to respect our fellow members and colleagues. Openness: We must be open to any story and its emotions. We must constantly work to increase our openness to others. Knowledge: We must always strive to increase our self-knowledge and our knowledge of others. We must always strive to improve our skills in the playback theatre method. We must insist on the performance conditions necessary for playback theatre to function well. Emergence: We must trust the process of emergent experience and maintain an atmosphere of spontaneity, openness, and respect at rehearsals and workshops as well as at performances.